A/N: Happy Sunday (or Saturday, depending on where you are located in the world), dear readers! Please know how much I LOVED reading all your gorgeous reviews for the last chapter, thank you so much.

Thanks again to LMM and kwak. They're tops. And so are YOU, dear reader. :)

Enjoy!

~ FKAJ x

Chapter Twenty Two

It was a crisply vivid morning on the last Tuesday of July, as Anne and Gilbert sat side by side on the platform at Bright River station, waiting for the eight o'clock train to arrive.

In days gone by, Anne and Gilbert would have laughed and chatted merrily, but the silence between them now was conspicuous as they sat on the bench together. Gilbert's hands were clasped tightly between his knees and his right leg began to jostle restlessly before he stopped himself by placing one hand on his thigh.

There was a small distance between Anne and her husband on the platform bench, and she was feeling unexpectedly emotional about Gilbert's imminent departure. Breathing in his familiar scent as subtly as she could, Anne blinked rapidly and tears were stinging her eyes as she clasped her hands in her lap and considered the month ahead in Avonlea. The thought of the next few weeks without Gilbert filled her heart with gloom. Even though their relationship was strained at best, would not Avonlea be a forlorn and lonely place without him? Anne drew in a deep breath as she gazed out across the green pastures beyond the little station.

Anne's red curls were tucked demurely beneath a jaunty cream coloured hat, and the pretty frills of her light-coloured muslin dress were hidden beneath a pale green coat which was buttoned right up to her slender throat. She cast a few nervous sideways glances at the firm set of Gilbert's jaw and wondered what he was thinking.

Gilbert sat ramrod straight beside his wife, aware that she was watching him and unable to think of anything of note to say. When Anne emerged from her bedroom that morning wearing the pretty summer dress with her slender white arms raised as she pinned her hat into her glorious red tresses, his mouth went dry and he had hastily looked away so she couldn't see the desire flash in his eyes.

As he drove them to the station, Gilbert had kept his gaze firmly on the road. Now, as they sat together, the unease between them felt profound.

"I noticed something peculiar when I visited Matthew's grave last night," Anne said, wanting to break the silence.

"Oh? What was that?" Gilbert kept his eyes trained on the tracks in front of them.

"There was a little posy of wildflowers placed on his headstone," Anne said. "Asters and lady slippers like the ones that grow on the side of the road. I saw another posy just like it last week. Isn't that strange?"

"Not really," Gilbert shrugged. "Perhaps Marilla visited earlier."

"No, Marilla wouldn't take wildflowers to him," Anne shook her head. "Who do you suppose it might have been?"

Gilbert tried to ignore the way his heart melted a little when Anne turned her face up to him. It reminded him of those times when Anne often sought his opinion on a range of topics, both great and small, back when she cared what he thought and valued his ideas. But that was long ago, when they had been the best of friends. Gilbert continued to study the line of young birch trees on the other side of the tracks as he considered how very different their relationship was now.

Before he had a chance to respond, Anne muttered, "Oh no," under her breath.

"What is it?" Gilbert asked, chancing a quick glance in Anne's direction.

"Josie," Anne whispered. From the other end of the platform, Josie waved and made her way towards them. "She's seen us."

"Good morning, Gilbert," Josie trilled as she drew closer. "And, Anne Shirley, don't your eyes look all weepy and red?"

Gilbert didn't like the way Josie used Anne's maiden name and his eyebrows briefly drew together into a small frown.

"It's Anne Blythe now," he reminded her, glancing sideways at his wife. He hadn't realised Anne was upset.

Anne attempted a cheerful smile as she tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped when Gilbert said her name.

"Where are you off to this morning?"

"I'm going to Charlottetown for a visit with my Aunt Elsie," Josie announced. "She always insists I must come and stay with her every summer. She misses me dreadfully otherwise."

"How nice," Anne said politely. "Will you be staying long?"

"Oh, about a fortnight or so," Josie said, waving her hand dismissively, as though her aunt wasn't particularly important at all. "She's very rich, you know. I mostly go so I can get my aunt's seamstress to make my new clothes for the year. But where are you two going? Are you finally leaving for your honeymoon?"

Josie was studying Anne's face a little too closely. Aware of the girl's probing stare, Anne's hands began fidgeting nervously in her lap. She almost jumped when she felt Gilbert's large, warm hand cover hers.

A slight frown crinkled Josie's forehead as she noticed Gilbert's gesture.

"I'm travelling out west to work on the railways for a month," Gilbert told Josie mildly. "My chum from college is meeting me there."

"Oh, really?" Josie didn't disguise the curiosity in her voice as she leaned a little closer to Gilbert. "What sort of a chum?"

"Rob's from the Lambs. Perhaps you met him at our wedding?"

Josie was a bit disappointed. She'd been hoping Gilbert's chum had been someone else. Charlie had told her that Gilbert was very friendly with a beautiful and rich girl at Redmond, and Josie wondered if that was the reason why he was leaving his new bride so soon. Although, Gilbert Blythe had always been so unswerving in his pursuit of Anne Shirley, it didn't seem very likely.

Josie's expression brightened as a new thought dawned.

"So, you're not having a honeymoon then?"

"No," Anne admitted.

"No wonder you're crying, Anne," Josie smirked. "Imagine having your husband leave you after only a few weeks of marriage!"

"I'm not leaving Anne," Gilbert declared more emphatically than he had intended. Anne glanced up, startled by his tone. "The railways will pay me enough to support us both for the rest of the year at Redmond."

"It's only for a few weeks," said Anne. "Then we'll be in Kingsport for our Senior year after that. The term starts in the second week of September."

"You can't mean you'll still continue to study, Anne?" Josie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her sharp black eyes were trained pointedly at Anne's belly before they strayed to where Gilbert's hand was still resting over Anne's slender fingers. "Surely that's not proper for a married woman?"

"Of course," Anne replied smoothly. "Our studies are most important to us. Redmond was delighted for me to continue, especially since I won the Thorburn scholarship."

Gilbert slowly withdrew his hand from Anne's and sat up a little straighter. He didn't like Josie's prying questions and he wanted to end the conversation, so he deliberately tried to provoke her with a compliment to his wife.

"Anne is quite famous on campus, you know," he smiled charmingly at Josie, leaning backward and placing his arm familiarly behind Anne on the back of the bench. "Not just because of the Thorburn. She won the Avery, too. Remember?"

The shrill sound of the train whistle could be heard in the distance.

"Ah, here comes the train now," Gilbert said. "It's been so pleasant speaking with you, Josie."

"Er, yes," Josie agreed uncertainly.

She looked as though she wanted to say more, but Gilbert Blythe's usually genial countenance was pinched into uncharacteristically stern lines, so she hesitated. He was always overly protective when it came to Anne Shirley. Couldn't a girl ask her old chum a few innocent questions?

Gilbert had turned away from Josie and his eyes were directed towards his wife as he considered his next move. The train was approaching the station and the smokestack was belching a great plume of smoke into the air. He wanted to give Josie something to tell all the old cats in Avonlea about, so that they would perhaps spare Anne their oh-so-polite interrogations while he was gone.

"Will you excuse us, please?" Anne asked, smiling sweetly at Josie.

Making a decision, Gilbert swung back to face Josie directly.

"Unless you want to stay and watch me saying good bye to my wife?" Gilbert grinned wickedly at Josie as he stood up abruptly, tugging on Anne's hand until she was standing next to him.

"No, thank you," Josie muttered. She turned hastily and made her way back to the porter who was carrying her trunk towards the carriage.

As they watched her retreating to the other end of the platform, Anne and Gilbert both knew that Josie would be watching them. Anne sighed in relief as she watched Josie leave, although she was casting several curious glances over her shoulder at them, hoping to catch Anne really bursting into tears.

"Thank goodness she's gone," Anne murmured.

Gilbert thought Anne's eyes did look a little red-rimmed, which only served to bring out the green in them. Was she really dismayed by his departure for Lake Superior with Cassidy? She was looking into his hazel eyes a trifle uncertainly as he stared at her for a long moment.

Without warning, Anne felt Gilbert's strong arms sliding around her waist, pulling her body to him as he bent his head to whisper in her ear. His warm breath was tickling the curls at her temple.

"We'd better make this good for that malicious witch," he murmured, before he drew his face back a little to gaze into the fathomless pools of Anne's bewitching eyes.

"Make what good?" Anne asked breathlessly. Gilbert's firm body was pressed to hers and her skin was growing unsettlingly warm.

"This," Gilbert replied in a low voice.

Without another word, he lowered his eyes to her lips as he slowly bent his head and gently pressed his lips to Anne's soft mouth.

Although Gilbert had intended to give her nothing more than a chaste kiss for Josie's benefit, the moment his lips touched Anne's, something fierce ignited in him. The memory of that kiss at their wedding came flooding back to him and the mere touch of her soft lips was causing a disconcerting throb in his trousers. His fingers were grasping Anne's slender waist and he drew her body closer to him. Anne's eyes flew wide and she gasped in surprise so her lips parted a little beneath his. Those soft, pink lips were so tempting and the little puffs of her breath on his skin so sweet that Gilbert was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her in the most immodest fashion imaginable.

Suddenly, his traitorous imagination was filling his mind with images of Anne naked and panting beneath him as he buried his face between her creamy thighs. Instinctively, Gilbert's tongue was licking at her lower lip and sliding into Anne's mouth. He was crushing her slim form to him and he could almost feel her taut little nipples boring into his chest as his lips slid against hers.

When Anne felt Gilbert's warm tongue touching hers, she gasped again, realising that this kiss was quite different to the virtuous pecks that she and her husband had exchanged so far. Even that passionate kiss she remembered so well from their wedding. This kiss was like an assault on Anne's senses, making her head spin and she felt a heat surging through her body in response.

As Gilbert continued to kiss her with a fervour which snatched the breath from her lungs, Anne couldn't think straight, and her body's reaction to his touch took her by complete surprise. She was confused by the undeniable effect that kiss had on her, and there was a warm ticking pulse between her legs that she couldn't explain away.

Gilbert was bending Anne over his arm as she panted into his mouth, and her hands were clutching at his broad shoulders for support. Strands of her glossy red hair had tumbled from beneath her hat and a few tendrils were cascading in loose curls over one shoulder. Gilbert could feel the soft coils tickling his wrist as he slid his palm upwards and pressed her even further backwards over his other arm. His heart was pounding in his chest and his faithless body pulsed with something other than friendship.

"Gilbert..." she breathed when he finally drew his lips away from hers a fraction.

Her voice was low and husky, sending shivers down Gilbert's spine. Anne cleared her throat as she stared into his glowing hazel gaze. His arms were still about her waist as they straightened and all he wanted to do was kiss her again.

Anne withdrew herself from her husband's embrace and stepped away slightly, hoping they hadn't drawn too much attention to themselves. She raised shaking fingers to unbutton the fastenings of her coat, suddenly feeling very warm. Her fingers then flew to her hair, trying to adjust the curls which had come loose, aware that her nipples were hard and that pulsing warmth continued between her legs as she gazed at her husband's face. She found herself wishing he would kiss her like that again.

"I – uh," Gilbert muttered as he tried to recover himself. "Anne, I..."

Gilbert's attention had been arrested by Anne's slender fingers unbuttoning her clothes before him. His mouth went dry when Anne raised her arms to adjust her hair, and her breasts were pushed up until they were straining against the bodice of her demure summer dress. He swallowed and slowly dragged his eyes away from Anne's breasts until he was gazing into clear grey eyes which were now decidedly ringed with green. He was captivated by her loveliness and he had an almost irresistible urge to kiss her again.

They stared at each other for another long moment before Anne glanced nervously over Gilbert's broad shoulder and her eyes fell on Josie Pye's shocked face. Josie had witnessed the whole thing from the other end of the platform. Her mouth was shaped into a shocked 'O' shape and her small, beady eyes were wide beneath eyebrows raised so high they had almost disappeared beneath her carefully coiffed blonde bangs.

Why, that Anne Shirley was practically undressing her husband with her eyes for anyone on the platform to see! It was so indecorous.

Gilbert was feeling winded and still staring at Anne's face, hazel eyes dark with the persistent craving gnawing in the pit of his belly. He was barely able to form a coherent thought as he tried to catch his breath. The two spots of colour blooming on Anne's pale cheeks caused another aching throb between his legs.

"It seems we've given Josie quite the show," Anne laughed nervously, suddenly unable to meet his gaze.

Gilbert shoved his fists deep in his pockets.

"Yes, of course, Josie," he mumbled, glancing over his shoulder. "Did she see?"

"I'd say so," Anne nodded.

"Right, well…"

Anne started slightly as the train whistle blew shrilly beside them.

"See you in Kingsport, then," Gilbert said, bending to pick up his suitcase.

"Mmm," Anne nodded, her trembling fingers touching her bottom lip. Her eyes were luminous.

Gilbert stared into those starry orbs for another long moment before he turned and strode towards the train.

My fervent thanks to all of you reading along, and my especial thanks to every reader who takes the time to leave me a review. :)

Love and smiles to you all.

Your Jx